| Abstrakt: |
At the end of September, the international contemporary designer jewelry conference ŠperkStret took place in Bratislava for the eleventh time. The event takes place every other year, and its focus lies in professional lectures on a predetermined topic reflected in contributions by experts from abroad and the home environment. The program also includes exhibitions, guided tours, and creative workshops for the public. Mária Hriešik Nepšinská, an art theoretician, jeweler, and co-organizer of ŠperkStret, characterizes the purpose of the event as follows: “The symposium’s aim is to stimulate discussions about current events in the field of theory and practice of creating art jewelry, but also jewelry designs, their presentation, and education… ŠperkStret reflects current trends in art jewelry design by presenting the subjective opinions of an internationally composed spectrum of lecturers.” ŠperkStret was created in 2004 from the initiative of Professor Karol Weisslechner, head of the S+M+L_XL Metal and Jewelry Studio at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava; he organized it together with his school’s team. The event’s form and scope changed over time, depending on the organizers’ rotation and financial and spatial conditions. While the first editions took place in the academic environment of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava and had a more intimate character, later, in addition to lectures, gradually, the event covered more exhibitions and accompanying events. Since 2008, the lecture marathon has been extended to two days; in 2015, a special Czech-Slovak edition was held, with which the conference returned to the one-day format and moved to the premises of Berlinka in the Slovak National Gallery. During the eleven years in Bratislava, it held many contributions by renowned experts. For all of them, I mention at least the art theorists Liesbeth den Besten and Marjana Unger and philosopher Prava Mazumdar. Artists such as Peter Skubic, Herman Hermsen, Christoph Zellweger, and Daniel Kruger presented their work here; Teo Smeets and Karen Pontoppidan also contributed. A selection of texts from previous editions was published in three peer-reviewed anthologies: Pica Pica (2008), Ring Ring (2013), and Collection and Collecting – Gold-Aura of Preciousness (2021). With no enthusiasm and personal commitment of the organizers and the material and financial support of partners, this kind of event, which is inspiring rather for a narrow audience, could not take place. In 2020, the conference was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The lectures were held online, causing unusually high audience participation from all over the world. Still, on the other hand, it limited the rare personal meetings with authors, theorists, and also gallerists. The topic of the previous conference, Body Politics and Jewellery, was followed up by this year’s titled Social Value of Personal Object; it took place on September 23, 2022, in the premises of the Pálffy Palace, Bratislava City Gallery, as part of the several-day ŠperkStret meeting (September 22 – 24, 2022) and reflected on contemporary jewelry in the context of social interactions. From a theoretical point of view, Lieta Marziali, Veronika Muráriková, and Katharina Schniebs elaborated on the topic; Gisbert Stach and Ted Noten brought the author’s point of view in their contributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
